# Brian Taylor (basketball)

Brian Dwight Taylor (born June 9, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the Kansas City Kings, Denver Nuggets, and San Diego Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

## Basketball career

A 6'2" guard from Princeton University, he was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round of the 1972 NBA draft. However, he began his professional career with the New York Nets of the ABA, for whom he played four seasons, appearing in two ABA All-Star Games. When the Nets joined the NBA in 1976, they traded Taylor to the Kansas City Kings along with Jim Eakins and 2 first round draft picks in exchange for Hall of Famer Tiny Archibald. He averaged a career-high 17 points per game in 1976–77. He also played for the Denver Nuggets and San Diego Clippers, before a torn achilles tendon forced his retirement in 1982.
Taylor graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1969.
During the 1979–80 NBA season, Taylor led the league in 3-point field goals made (the season the NBA first implemented the 3-point line) with a total of 90.

## Career statistics

| † | Denotes seasons in which Taylor's team won an ABA championship |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 1972–73 | New York (ABA) | 63 | — | 32.3 | .515 | .160 | .743 | 3.2 | 2.8 | — | — | 15.3 |
| 1973–74† | New York (ABA) | 75 | — | 33.4 | .476 | .276 | .699 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 2.1 | .3 | 11.1 |
| 1974–75 | New York (ABA) | 79 | — | 33.1 | .513 | .217 | .765 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 2.8* | .3 | 14.0 |
| 1975–76† | New York (ABA) | 54 | — | 32.1 | .489 | .421* | .792 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 2.3 | .4 | 16.7 |
| 1976–77 | Kansas City | 72 | — | 34.6 | .504 | — | .818 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 2.8 | .2 | 17.0 |
| 1977–78 | Denver | 39 | — | 31.3 | .452 | — | .765 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 1.8 | .2 | 11.6 |
| 1978–79 | San Diego | 20 | — | 10.6 | .361 | — | .889 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.2 | .0 | 3.8 |
| 1979–80 | San Diego | 78 | — | 35.3 | .467 | .377 | .802 | 2.4 | 4.3 | 1.9 | .3 | 13.5 |
| 1980–81 | San Diego | 80 | — | 28.9 | .525 | .383* | .789 | 1.9 | 5.5 | 1.5 | .3 | 10.1 |
| 1981–82 | San Diego | 41 | 40 | 31.1 | .503 | .365 | .818 | 2.3 | 5.6 | 1.1 | .2 | 10.8 |
| Career | Career | 601 | 40 | 31.9 | .493 | .356 | .780 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 2.1 | .3 | 13.1 |
| All-Star | All-Star | 2 | — | 25.0 | .545 | .000 | .600 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 2.0 | .0 | 13.5 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 1973 | New York (ABA) | 5 | — | 33.2 | .483 | .000 | .800 | 3.2 | 2.2 | — | — | 13.6 |
| 1974† | New York (ABA) | 14 | — | 36.2 | .518 | .667 | .767 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 2.4 | .3 | 14.1 |
| 1975 | New York (ABA) | 5 | — | 37.2 | .361 | .333 | 1.000 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 1.4 | .2 | 6.2 |
| 1976† | New York (ABA) | 13* | — | 36.5 | .380 | .300 | .739 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 2.0 | .2 | 15.8 |
| Career | Career | 37 | — | 36.1 | .440 | .324 | .768 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.1 | .3 | 13.5 |

## Business career

In 2012, Great Hearts Academies hired Taylor to be the executive director of Teleos Preparatory Academy in Phoenix, Arizona.

## Family

His son, Bryce, played guard for the Oregon Ducks.